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NEW YORK -- Lance Stephenson gave the home fans something to cheer, and that hasnt happened often in Brooklyn this season. And the way the Nets are going, it may not happen many more times. "I think its getting very close to just accepting losing," coach Jason Kidd said. Stephenson scored a career-high 26 points in his hometown, Paul George also had 26, and the Indiana Pacers went on to their third straight easy victory, 103-86 over the Nets on Monday night. Stephenson, who recorded his NBA-leading third triple-double of the season Sunday in a rout of Boston, did most of his damage as a scorer, back where he did plenty of it in high school. He became the career scoring leader in New York state, with nearly 3,000 points at Abraham Lincoln High School. Dozens of fans saluted him as he exited the court through the tunnel, and Stephenson, unable to hide his grin afterward, figures he knew most of them. "I just was very motivated and hyped for this game. I couldnt sleep at night. Im just happy we got the W," said Stephenson, who coach Frank Vogel said should be the leading choice for the Most Improved Player award that George won last season. David West finished with 13 points for the Pacers, who pulled away in the third period, when Paul Pierce was ejected for a flagrant foul in only the second scoreless game of his career. Indiana followed its only losing streak of the season by beating Houston and Boston by a combined 60 points, then blew this one open after a competitive first half. "Lance Stephenson and Paul George just keep putting in special performances and theyre really giving us a big lift," Vogel said. Joe Johnson scored 17 points for the Nets, who lost their third straight. Kevin Garnett, moving to the centre spot after Brook Lopez was lost to a broken right foot, had 12. Lopez was the Nets leading scorer, and his loss -- and watching how easily the Pacers dominated the third quarter -- make it hard to believe the Nets can turn around their 9-18 record and reach their lofty expectations. "Were kind of getting comfortable with losing and weve got to make a stand with that because when things get tough, do we just give in?" Kidd said. "And most of the time right now we do." The Nets host Chicago on Christmas. Deron Williams, who shot 3 of 9 in an admittedly poor performance, disagreed with Kidds statement about accepting losing. "Im not comfortable with losing. Its not fun," he said. "Its not fun not only when were losing during the game, but when you go home sitting and thinking about it." Neither team managed a double-digit lead in the first half. The Pacers went ahead by eight late in the second quarter on Stephensons 3-pointer, and they took a 45-39 advantage into halftime. George hit a 3-pointer to open the third and it was all Indiana from there, highlighted by a 20-4 run that turned an eight-point lead into a 71-47 bulge. Pierce was ejected during the blitz. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up, but his arm ended up going around Hills neck for a clothesline tackle. Referees ruled it a flagrant 2 after review, an automatic ejection, though even Hill wasnt sure it warranted that. "It was a basketball play. I think back in the day, hard fouls was good," he said. "So, it was a hard foul, but at the end of the day, dont let it rattle you and thats what I thought about." Pierce finished 0 for 7. His only other scoreless night in a 15-year career came in a 10-minute outing against the Charlotte Hornets on March 9, 1999, during his rookie season, according to STATS. Nets reserve Jason Terry had 11 points in his first appearance since Nov. 20 after he missed the last 15 games with a bruised left knee. Andray Blatche also scored 11. Notes: The teams meet again Saturday at Indiana, the start of punishing three-game trip for the Nets that follows with visits to San Antonio and Oklahoma City. ... The Pacers, who had 29 and 28 assists in their last two games, finished with 16. ... Danny Granger was 0 for 7 in 14 scoreless minutes. Wholesale Blackhawks Jerseys . After a 99-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, his Celtics coaches and teammates have only positive things to say about the Toronto-born rookie. Chicago Blackhawks Gear .TV Series: Duck Dynasty. https://www.cheapblackhawks.com/. Pearce had a career-high four hits and drove in two runs, and Wei-Yin Chen shut down Texas again as the Orioles completed a four-game sweep of the Rangers with a 5-2 victory on Thursday night. Stitched Blackhawks Jerseys . - Tom Brady and the Patriots routed the Bengals and quieted the doubters. Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys .1 Sam Stosur will meet Germanys second-ranked player Andrea Petkovic in the opening match of the Fed Cup World Group semifinal.KITZBUEHEL, Austria -- Didier Defago of Switzerland edged Bode Miller by 0.05 seconds to win a World Cup super-G on Sunday, and Alexis Pinturault of France won the super-combined event for his sixth career victory. With snow falling on a shortened Streifalm course, Defago was the next racer after Miller and timed 1 minute, 10.38 seconds for his first victory since a downhill in Bormio, Italy, in December 2011. "The course suits me," said Defago, the 2010 Olympic champion who won the classic Hahnenkamm downhill five years ago. "I was disappointed we had only one training run this week. I love this course. I fully used my chances today." Overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway and Max Franz of Austria shared third, 0.15 off the lead. The race also counted as the first portion of the super-combined, which added the results of the super-G and a slalom run. Pinturault posted the fastest time in the floodlit slalom to finish in an aggregate time of 2 minutes, 2.79 seconds. Ted Ligety of the United States was 0.44 back in second, and defending overall champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria was third, 1.47 behind. "Its a great result," Pinturault said. "My confidence is building and my skiing gets better and better. Thats very positive for the Olympics." Miller, who led the competition after the super-G as speed specialist Defago skipped the slalom, posted the third-fastest time in slalom but was disqualified for straddling a gate. Svindal of Norway also failed to finish the slalom, leaving Hirscher the chance to close the gap in the overall standings to 102 points. The next event is the night slalom in Schladming, where Svindal wont compete. Hirscher was 1.53 off the lead after the super-G but attacked his slalom throughout to make the podium. "I couldnt risk more than Ive done," said Hirscher, who failed the finish the regular slalom event Friday. "These 60 points are now very important for me." Ligety was 0.94 back in 31st after the super-G, but put in an aggressive slalom run that was unmatched until Pinturault came down. "My slalom run was ok, it was sure better than in the classic slalom race," Ligety said. "Alexis is a great slalom skier so its not too bad to be after him." Earlier Sunday, organizers delayed the super-G for three hours due to snowfall and lowered the start because of strong winds. Defago missed the season following his Olympic title after tearing ligaments in his left knee. He hadnt beeen on a World Cup podium since his win in Bormio.dddddddddddd However, getting top-10s in three downhills this season, including last week in Wengen and Saturday in Kitzbuehel, were signs of a return to form with the Sochi Olympics looming. "Its yet unclear if I am really going to retire," said the 36-year-old Defago, who had earlier hinted this Olympic season might be his last. "When I see I can still race this good then it becomes a difficult decision." Miller missed out on a possible win for a second straight day after mistakes he called "heartbreaking" and "painful" saw him come third in the downhill. He had targeted that race to earn his first World Cup win since taking the downhill in Beaver Creek in 2011. Miller said the anger from the day before helped him in the super-G. Starting 23rd, he was clean throughout and beat the times from the seasons leading super-G racers. "You use the emotions if you can, if you think thats beneficial," Miller said. "I know that on a short course, skiing really aggressive, really angry, can be helpful because its so really close. When it comes down to five-hundreds ... a little bit of extra aggression can make the difference. I definitely brought that in there and thats just a usable emotion." Miller added that he "skied really well. I didnt leave a whole lot out there. Second place is also fine. Both results are fine, I am just much happier with my skiing today." Miller considered himself unlucky having to start right after a scheduled TV commercial interruption of the race. "It doesnt help to have the TV break right before you," Miller said. "Three minutes of nobody skiing the actual track. And the snow, its not very much but its enough to slow things down a little bit." American teammate Travis Ganong trailed by 0.30 in joint sixth for his career-best result in super-G. "My skiing is in a really good spot right now," said Ganong, a day after finishing seventh in the downhill. "You get to the point where youve done so many races, you turn your brain off and you just ski and have fun. Most races Ive done in the past, Ive been over-thinking things. This run I just forgot about everything just relaxed and skied and had fun." Ganong later missed a gate in the slalom and didnt finish the super-combined event. This weekends World Cup races were the last before nations have to name their squads for the Sochi Olympics. 14:41ET 26-01-14 ' ' '